Men’s basketball: Olivet falls to Calvin, 87-74

OLIVET, Mich. – A valiant comeback fell short for the Olivet College men's basketball team, as Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) leader Calvin College hung on to beat the Comets, 87-74, tonight at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet. With the win, the Knights secured the outright MIAA championship for the 2014-15 season.

The Comets led by five points, 16-11, at the 14:23 mark. Calvin came back with a 9-4 run to tie the game at 20-20. Tyler Dykstra put the Knights ahead with a basket with 7:51 left before halftime. Calvin's lead at the break, 17 points (47-30) was its largest lead of the game.

The Knights extended their lead to as many as 25 points twice in the first four minutes and 23 seconds of the second half. The last time was 57-32. Olivet then went on a 29-9 to trail by five points, 66-61, at the 7:15 mark. After Calvin made a three-pointer, the Comets answered with free throw by freshman Jake Zielinski and a three-pointer by sophomore Aaron Washington cut the Knight lead down to only four points, 69-65.

Calvin responded by scoring 11 of the next 15 points to push its lead back to double digits, where it would stay for the rest of the game. The Knights made 5-of-6 free throws in the final minutes to seal their win.

Offensively, Olivet shot 50 percent (27-of-54) from the floor, with nine triples, and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the free throw line. Calvin was slightly better, shooting 54.1 percent (33-of-61) from the floor, with eight treys, and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the charity stripe.

Sophomore Kevin Woodson led the Comets with 16 points. Washington and Zielinski finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Their combined 27 points all came in the second half. Junior Alex Antic grabbed a team-best six rebounds.

The Knights had five players reach double figures in points. Jordan Brink led all players with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Cameron Denney added 14 points, while Dykstra, Jordan Daley and Austin Parks each had 11. Brink and Daley pulled down six rebounds apiece.

Olivet wraps-up its season Saturday afternoon when it travels to play Trine (Ind.) University at 1 p.m.

NOTE: Before the game, the Comets recognized their three seniors, DeOndre Callahan, Blake Krum and Jordan Union.